Uncoupling attachment for car couplers



March 24, 1925. 1,530,938

' c. M. HANNAFORD UNCOUPLING ATTACHMENT FOR CAR COUPLERS Filed March 13,1924 Patented K115711224, 1925. lfi l i ATS lFlFlE.

CLEON M. HANNAFORD, 01" RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.

UNCO'UPLING ATTACHMENT FOB CAB. CO'UFLERS.

Application filed. March 13, 1924-. Serial No. 699,001.

T all whom it may concern: uncoupling attachment or connecting de- Be itknown that I, CLnoN M. HANNA- vice. There is also: shown an operatingroan, a citizen of the United States, residing mechanism comprising arod 3, part of at Richmond, in the county of Henrico and which is shownmounted in bearings 4;, one

5 State of Virginia, have invented a certain of which is shown, thesebearings being new and useful Improvement in Uncoupling fined to anysuitable part of the end of the Attachments for Car Couplers, of whichthe car. The rod 3 has an end extension or following is a full, clear,and exact descriparm 5 projecting outwardly therefrom totion. ward thecoupler and having in its extreme The object of this invention is toprovide end an eye or slot 6 to be engaged by the G5 a simplified andellicient substitute for the connecting device.

links, chains, clevises, pins and cotters As already stated, theconnecting device commonly used for connecting the operating is composedo1 two unlike members, the

mechanism fixed to the ends of railroad lower one of which designated 7has a bot- 1-5 cars with the uncoupling members forming tom portion orloop 8 of the general outline parts of the car couplers. of a U in sideelevation, one limb of this The uncoupling attachment consists of loopterminating in an eye 9 arranged suba pair oi": flexibly connectedunlike members, stantially at right angles thereto and the constructedand arranged as hereinafter exother limb 1O terminating short of the eye9.

-20 plained, one of which members is adapted The other member of theconnecting deto be engaged with the lock-lift or the equivvice,designated generally as 11, has an eye alent device of a car coupler,and the other 12 at its upper end, with the free end 13 of which isadapted to be connected with turned slightly aside and left open, and aan operating mechanism fixed to the end of shank i, on the bottom ofwhich is a trans 25 the car and usually consisting of a rocking Verselyarranged block 15 having in its rod provided with an arm extendingoutopposite edges the grooves or notches 16 wardly from the car and overtowards the which straddle the limbs of the U-shaped coupler, saidattachment being so conportion of the lower member 7. structed as topermit of its removal without These two members, 7 and 11, are flexibly3%) taking down the operating mechanism, as united, that is to say, theyhave freedom of T will proceed now to explain and finally longitudinalmovement and some lateral claim. play, in order to compensate for themove- 111 the accompanying drawings illustrating ments of the car, thecoupler and the operatthe invention, in the several figures of which ingmechanism.

35 like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 The connecting deviceis furnished to the is a perspective view showing a part of the userwith the limb 10 slightly open, as inend of a car, the operatingmechanism, and cheated by dotted lines in 3, to permit coupler, and theconnecting device or run said limb to be engaged with the eye 2 ofcoupling attachment of this invention. Fig. the lock-littor othercoupler control, and

to 2 is a perspective view of the connecting then this limb may beclosed in as shown device detached; Fig. 3 is an elevation therein fulllines in Figs. 1, 2, 8 and l. The of, and Fig. a is a top plan view.Fig. 5 upper member 11 has its eye 12 engaged is an elevation, and Fig.6 a top plan view with the eye 5 in the arm (3 oi the operatshowing amodification. ing rod by a twisting movement. It is im- 45 The inventionis shown in Fig. 1 in conmaterial whether the connecting device isnection with an approved type of automatic applied to the operating rodor to the lockor Janney coupler, in which a lock-lift lift first,although it is preferred to apply 1 is used to ensure the engagement ofthe it to the operating rod because of the twistcouplers on adjacentcars and capable of ing motion necessary to eiiect such applica so beingraised to permit uncoupling of the "ion. cars, although the invention isapplicable to Inasmuch the shank 1 1 is of a length other types ofcouplers, in which a coupling sullicient to drop the block 15 toward thepin of some sort is used to control the opbottom of the member 7, saidblock will rest erations of the couplers. This device 1 is on the top ofthe eye of the lock-lift and 53 supplied with an eye 2 to be engaged bythe thereby the weight of the connecting device will serve to preventaccidental dis placement or creeping or working out of the lock-lift inthe operation of the car or coupler. It is not an infrequent occurrencein old style arrangements that the lock-lifts work up in the couplersand the cars thereby become uncoupled. This cannot occur with myattachment. The play of the upper member in the lower member of theattachment provides the necessary lost motion to prevent the accidentallifting of the locklift by the vibration of the operating rod and itsarm. The necessary motion to effect the lifting of the lock-lift servesto bring the block 15 and the eye 9 into contact, after which thefurther movement of the operating rod serves to raise the connectingdevice and the lock-lift into unlocked and uncoupled position.

In case of damage to the car or coupler, and in any other case where itis necessary to disconnect the parts, the hmb 10 may be opened and theconnecting device detached from the lock-lift; or the eye 12 may bedisconnected from the arm 6 by reverse twisting motion. In no case is itnecessary to detach the operating rod wholly or in part from the car inorder to effeet the removal of the connecting device; and yet the partsof the connecting device are so firmly connected to the lock lift andthe operating rod that unauthorized removal is practically obviated orinsured against.

In the modification shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the U-shaped or loopedbottom member may be made a little wider than the corre sponding membershown in Fig. 3, and the limb 17 may have its upper end terminating adistance suificiently short of the eye 9 to admit the eye of the locklift without spreading the limb 17 as is done in the case of limb 10. Tofurther provide for the insertion of the eye of the lock-lift the block18 may have its adjacent notch or groove 19 enlarged, so that when thetwo members are pulled lengthwise this block may be tilted toward theright to permit the passage into the lower member of the eye of thelock-lift.

By the construction last described, it will be seen that a connectingdevice may be applied and also disconnected without bending its parts,although the manner of applying and removing may not be obvious to theunskilled or to those who would attempt to surreptitiously disconnectthe device. In any case, liability of disconnection in ordinary use isentirely removed.

By reason of the three-point guide, namely, the eye in the lower memberand the notches or grooves in the block, the two members of theattachment are at all times in line and free to move with the coupler inall directions, without binding.

Variations in the details or" construction are considered to be withinthe principle and scope of the invention as herein explained andhereinafter claimed.

What I claim is 1. An uncoupling attachment for car couplers,con'iprising two unlike members arranged one within the other in aflexible manner, one of the members of loop form having substantiallyparallel limbs and one of the limbs terminating in a transverselyarranged eye, and the other member having an open eye arranged outsideof the first mentioned member and provided with a shank extendingthrough the eye of the first mentioned member and terminating within theloop and having at such terminal a transversely arranged block providedwith oppositely arranged grooves which engage the limbs of the firstmentioned memher.

2. An uncoupling attachment for car couplers, comprising two unlikemembers arranged one within the other in a flexible manner, one of themembers being of loop form and having substantially parallel limbs, oneof said limbs terminating in a transversely arranged eye, and the othermember having an open eye arranged outside of the first mentioned memberand provided with a shank extending through the eye of the firstmentioned member and terminating within the loop and having at suchterminal a transversely arranged block provided with oppositely arrangedgrooves which engage the limbs or" the first mentioned member, thetransverse eye and grooved block affording a three-point guide for themovements oi the members and serving to prevent binding, and saidtransverse eye serving as a stop to limit the outward movement of theblock.

3. In an uncoupling mechanism for car couplers having an operatingmechanism and a coupler closing and opening control, an attachment forconnecting the operating mechanism and the control, same comprising twounlike members, one of which has a substantially U-shaped part one limbof which terminates in a transverse eye and the other limb of which isopen sufficiently to engage the control, the other member having an openeye adapted by a twisting motion to engage the operating mechanism, ashank passed through the transverse eye of the first mentioned member,and a transversely arranged block fixed on the end of the shank andhaving opposite notches in engagement with the limbs of the U-shapedmember, the two members capable of flexing longitudinally andtransversely.

4. In an uncoupling mechanism for car couplers having an operatingmechanism and a coupler closing and opening control, an attachment forconnecting the operating mechanism and the control, same comprising twounlike members, one of which has a substantially U-shaped part one limbof which terminates in a transverse eye and the other limb of which isalways open suflieiently to engage the control, the other member havingan open eye adapted by a twisting motion to engage the operatingmechanism, a shank passed through the transverse eye of the firstmentioned member, and a transversely arranged block fixed on the end ofthe shank and having opposite notches of different depth in engagementwith the limbs of the U-shaped member, the two members capable of flex-15 ing longitudinally and transversely.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 8th day of March,A. D. 1924.

CLEON M. HANNAFORD.

Witnesses A. D. MooRE, CHAS. A. JORDAN.

